Agile Web Solutions 1Password 3.0.2 review

Keep important information secure and safe from prying eyes

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Our Verdict

You get what you pay for: an unbeatable solution for securing digital data

For

Strong browser integration

Support for app registrations

Usable and quite intuitive

Saves time and reduces worry

Every day, you juggle more passwords: app registration codes, banking details, logins for online services. 1Password acts as a secure repository for them all, justifying its price by being more versatile and usable than your Keychain Access.

1Password is essentially a secure vault. You begin by defining a master password, which you mustn't forget, since you can't retrieve it.

With the vault open, 1Password resembles an iLife app crossed with Delicious Library: a sidebar houses categories, a second column provides 'shelves' with items, and the largest pane enables you to edit details. (Leave your Mac for a user-definable period of time and the vault automatically locks.)

Items can be added manually by selecting a sidebar item and keying in data. However, you can speed things along: just drag an app selection from Finder to set up dozens of software records, or use 1Password's browser integration to grab website login details.

You can add tags to assist with searches and attachments (such as receipts) to records, and generate stronger passwords.

In browsers, 1Password's menu can be used to fill forms with card and identity details too. At first, 1Password seems extravagant, but, in use, its ability to save time and reduce worry becomes clear.

As an app for storing website logins and app registration details alone, it'd be worth a punt; but add security for notes, identities and banking items – plus loads of polish – and you've got a winner.